Ireland – a note about pubs and restaurants

“Laughter is brightest where food is best”
-Irish proverb

One of the great things about traveling is experiencing the local customs, and the cuisine! Ireland focuses on quality, locally sourced ingredients, and you can taste the difference. Seafood is in abundance, and their meat and dairy are first class. We came home with many new favorites and have incorporated a few recipes into the cooking rotation. I also buy Irish butter and cheese now whenever I can! Here is a little guide for eating out in Ireland, and a few recommendations…

Pubs

If you’re craving a pint while you’re out and about, you might think to pop in to one of the many pubs you see, and you should definitely do this. It may seem a little intimidating at first, but grab yourself a table, then head up to the bar to place your order. I do like a good stout or porter because they usually include flavors of coffee or chocolate, but I typically never order a Guinness. Unless I’m in Ireland. We never could figure out exactly why the Guinness tastes different there, but it does, and anyone who’s been there will tell you the same thing. It’s really, really good. And if you are at the bar and you say, “I’d like a pint”, it’s going to be a Guinness, so if you want something else, be specific! Other great beer choices would be Smithwick’s red ale, and Kilkenny’s cream ale. Take a chance on a new beverage, settle in, and soak up the atmosphere! The locals are welcoming, and a table or two may randomly burst into song while you’re there.
Warning: if you are also at all peckish, you may need to head to a restaurant instead. Many pubs in Ireland do not serve food. The Irish take their drinking very seriously, and the pubs open early and some only sell alcohol. No snacks, no chips, not even mixed nuts. My travel books and blogs all talk about the menus at pubs, but somehow none of the ones we visited had that option. No worries though, all the restaurants will serve a well-poured pint.

Restaurants

I didn’t keep a great record of where we ate our meals. Breakfast was often at the hotel or B&B, and lunch was either picked up at from a small cafe we happened to be walking by, or at the attraction we were visiting at lunchtime. Honestly even the tourist site cafeterias and hotel restaurants were quite good. For dinner we often asked the locals for restaurant recommendations, and we never got bad advice.

Wondering what to eat?

The Irish breakfast is a large meal and includes bacon and/or sausage, eggs, baked beans, grilled tomato, mushrooms, potatoes, and Irish soda bread or brown bread. If that sounds like a lot, (and it is!) you can always stick to scones with Irish butter and marmalade, and some tea and orange juice.
For dinner, besides the quintessential fish and chips (which you should absolutely have more than once), try the shepherd’s pie or the Irish beef stew. Chicken curry was a surprisingly common restaurant offering, and seafood is in abundance. Brown bread is served with everything and quickly became a group favorite.
A note about bread: If you are gluten-sensitive or gluten-free, we found the restaurants to be extremely accommodating. They always had gluten-free options, even for sandwiches and such. Also, they make their flour from a different kind of wheat than we do in the U.S., and it has a significantly lower gluten content. So if you are just gluten-sensitive, you may find you can eat the breads without issue.

A few recommendations:

• Cronin’s Restaurant in Killarney – Home – Cronin’s Restaurant – Traditional & Original Tastes – Killarney, Co. Kerry
  By some miracle we were able to get in here without a reservation, (I do think we had a bit of a wait), but I suggest booking ahead so you won’t be disappointed! This is a long-standing local favorite, and has a cozy atmosphere. The food was delicious, the service was excellent, and it was reasonably priced! Entrees range from 18 euros for the vegetarian tortellini to 33 euros for a 10 oz. steak. For dessert, try the sticky toffee pudding! 4/4 travelers recommend
• The Fisherman’s Pub in Ballynahinch Castle – Pubs in Connemara | Best Bar in Clifden | Fisherman’s Pub…
  We stayed at Ballynahinch Castle for two nights, and we knew we would be eating at both of their restaurants, so I did make reservations for each of them. Calling this a “pub” seems a bit of a stretch – it is in a castle, after all – but it still had traditional favorites with a heavy emphasis on seafood, including chowder, local oysters or mussels, and a catch of the day. Prices range from 20 to 46 euros for the entrees.
• The Owenmore Restaurant in Ballynahinch Castle – Best Restaurants Clifden | Clifden Restaurants | Fine…
  If you are the fine dining type, check out the Owenmore Restaurant. The interior is beautiful, and it offers sweeping views of the castle grounds and the river beyond. The food is FANCY, and the restaurant is PRICEY, but we were celebrating a milestone birthday, so we splurged. We tend to be more “cozy and casual” types, so I don’t know if we would choose this again. They do serve a great breakfast though, if you are staying at the hotel.
• Joe Watty’s Bar & Seafood Restaurant- Tí Joe Wattys Bar & Seafood Restaurant | Aran Islands | Galway, Ireland
  On our visit to the Aran islands, we needed a late lunch before catching the ferry back, and we stumbled across Joe Watty’s Bar. What a treasure! It was pretty crowded, as there are not many choices on the islands, but it was definitely worth the squeeze around the table. Outdoor seating is available if the weather is fine, and they have live music in the summer season. Order the seafood chowder – you’ll thank me later.
• FX Buckley Steakhouse – F.X. Buckley, Crow Street | Buckley Collection
  Our last night in Ireland was in Dublin, and we were celebrating another birthday, so we tried something different and found a steakhouse. Ireland is not only renowned for their seafood – they take great pride in their beef as well. FX Buckley has several locations around Dublin, and reservations should be made some weeks in advance. The drinks were great, and everyone raved about their steaks. This one was also a splurge, but worth it.

So those were our culinary adventures. If you’ve been to Ireland, I’d love to hear your thoughts and recommendations!